Night Of The Monster Raptor
by TheBlueWolf888
Summary: A Halloween fanfic. A mysterious yet deadly bird of prey attacks New York and the elite team of CPZ have to stop it. With Kowalski missing, will they be able to accomplish this? Rated for blood. Not a slash. 13thsense's Alexander is here!
1. The Monter Strikes

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**Hey, everybody! Here's yours truly making a Halloween fanfic to get in the season and join in with numerous authors of Halloween stories. So now, sit back relax, and perhaps have some popcorn as you read this baby!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

The Monster Strikes

Blood red eyes scanned New York City from the night sky. Their owner soared silently high above the city's skyscrapers and office towers, looking for something to satisfy its predatory hunger. The eyes shifted here and there until their gaze rested upon two human teens walking in a dark, abandoned alley. The predator stared at the unsuspecting kids hungrily before it swooped in for the kill.

The teens, both boys, strolled on leisurely while they talked about the party they went to earlier. They were laughing about a joke they heard when one of them suddenly jerked forward as talons stuck out of his body. His companion could only watch in fear when he was slowly lifted off the ground by the predator. It slashed at the boy's throat with its sharp beak and let go of him. The watching teen immediately ran off for dear life. Seeing that its other prey escaped, the predator went after him.

No matter how fast he ran, the predator flew faster. It suddenly closed in as its razor-like talons thrust into the boy's skull. The boy fell to the ground, dead and blood gushing out of his head. The predator squawked in triumph as it settled itself on the corpse's back and began ripping off and feeding on the fresh meat.

_Next morning…_

Skipper sipped his fish coffee slowly. It's been three weeks since Kowalski went missing. He and his team searched everywhere from early morning to late into the night, way past their bedtime. But there was still no sign of him. Everyone's worried, especially himself. His lieutenant could be anywhere and could possibly get hurt or experimented on by curious humans. Plus, without Kowalski by his side, they had no carefully-formulated plans and options to use on missions. That's why they skipped recon and exercises to spend the time looking for him, but all in vain.

"Skippah, you should come and see this!" Private called out.

The leader penguin went in front of the TV where his soldier was. He sat down and watched the morning news.

"_Two dead bodies of teenaged boys were found in an alley earlier this morning. Their backs were basically ripped open and most of their organs are missing. Residents believe that this is yet again the doing of a mysterious bird they call the 'Monster Raptor'._"

Private quickly ran to the bathroom and threw up. Rico became intrigued with the news and also settled down to watch it.

"_The Monster Raptor has been around for a week now, terrorizing people with the kills it leaves behind. According to some witnesses, the Monster Raptor is about the size of a six-year-old child, armed with a sharp beak and talons and preys on people walking alone in the streets at night. Investigators say that it is impossible for any bird of prey to reach that size, let alone feed on humans. But what really caused the killings is still unknown._"

Skipper could imagine carcasses of humans with their bellies ripped open and their internal organs gone. He shuddered at the thought. What kind of a sick and cruel mind would do this?

"_Whatever the reason behind the multiple slaughtering, government officials remind the residents to stay at home and not go outside alone, especially when nighttime comes. It is believed that the slaughterer only strikes at night."_

Private finally came out of the bathroom, looking a bit better.

"Skippah, what if the Monster Raptor attacks someone in our zoo?" he asked, wiping his beak with a tissue.

"Private, there is no such thing as a Monster Raptor," Alexander suddenly said, exiting the lab.

"But what killed those humans and ate their insides?"

"Maybe it's just some crazy guy who's got nothing to do and wants some attention."

"Really? It's too brutal and uncivilized to be some other human's doing."

"That's why they call it 'crazy'."

All of a sudden, a scream rang out. The penguins and the monitor went out of the HQ and to where the scream came from. They saw a crowd of animals not far away and immediately came to the middle of it. What they saw shocked them.

Marlene was on her knees, supporting an unconscious and bleeding Fred. His back had a long gash and there was blood everywhere. Private fainted instantly at the first sight of the red fluid.

"Rico, bring Private back to the HQ," Skipper ordered the weapons carrier then turned to Marlene. "What happened here?"

"I-I don't know," Marlene answered, her voice trembling, "I was just walking along when Fred came and… he was bleeding and… I don't know…"

She covered her face with her paws and began to cry. Skipper knelt on one knee **(if he had one) **and patted her shoulder.

"There, there, Marlene. He will be alright," he assured her. "Alexander, take Fred into the HQ and run a full medical check on him. I want to know what happened and who did this."

The monitor nodded, carefully took the squirrel into his arms and went off. Skipper called off the animal crowd, saying that he and his team all got it covered, and brought still sobbing Marlene into her habitat.

"Skipper, I think there's something you need to know," the otter stated, just as the penguin was about to return to his habitat.

"What is it?" Skipper inquired, turning back to her.

"Right before he passed out, Fred mentioned that he got attacked."

"Attacked? By who?"

"By… the Monster Raptor."


	2. The Forum

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**Raptor is another name for a bird of prey like the eagle, hawk, buzzard, etc. But, as the news on the TV in Chapter One said, what the guys are dealing with is no ordinary raptor. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

The Forum

Skipper came into the HQ, eyebrows furrowed a bit. Private was on his bunk, still unconscious and Rico was playing with his doll girlfriend. The leader penguin proceeded to the lab where Alexander was examining Fred's wound.

"What did you find out?" Skipper asked.

"According to its depth, size and the way it cut the patient's skin, I conclude that it was possibly caused by some sort of beak," Alexander explained as he moved his face from the gash and turned to his commanding officer. "And not just any beak. Probably one that belongs to a bird of prey. A very large bird of prey."

"Will Fred survive?"

"The wound's actually a lot less bad than it appears to be. It wasn't deep enough to penetrate the spinal cord, so we could just call it a scrape or something like that. Not a lot of blood was lost either. This is one lucky squirrel."

The medic added in some disinfectant and wrapped the gash up with bandages after the examination was done. A few minutes later, Fred woke up abruptly and sweating heavily.

"Wh-Where am I?" he inquired, sounding quite terrified.

"Calm down, Fred. You're in our HQ," Skipper answered, "now tell us – "

"It was scary. Very scary."

"I'm sure it must've been. Who – "

"It suddenly came in out of nowhere and took them."

"Them?"

"My friends Archie and Antonio. It cut them to pieces with its sharp claws and ate them and it tried to go after me but I escaped."

"Who cut them up? Who ate them?"

"This big bird that looked like an eagle, except that it was not an eagle. You could tell because it had these wicked talons and a cry that made chills run down your spine and red eyes that burned your very soul when you look at them. It killed Archie and Antonio mercilessly and devoured them greedily and… and…"

Fred passed out again before he could go any further. Skipper wanted to wake him up but Alexander stopped him.

"He's still in a state of shock. Let him rest," he said.

"We need to discuss about this," Skipper declared, "and when I mean 'we', I mean everyone in this zoo. Gather every zoo animal into the Zoovenir Shop in 1200 hours. Everybody deserves to know what happened and how this happened."

_Later at the Zoovenir Shop…_

All the animals were chattering, creating so much noise that you thought that there was some kind of riot. Skipper flipped onto the counter top and faced them.

"Everybody… QUIET!" he yelled and it became silent. "Thank you. Now, I'm sure all of you heard of what had happened earlier – "

"What did that to the squirrel?" someone from the crowd suddenly inquired.

"Will he live?" another question barged in.

"Is the Monster Raptor the one who attacked him?"

The last question made the animals buzz again. Julien and his lemur entourage hopped onto the counter top and the lemur king made a shrill whistle.

"No need to fear, my people," he called out, catching everyone's attentions. "This 'Monster Raptor' is obviously a guardian the Sky Spirits have sent for me. My guardian only attacks those who do not worship my kingly kingliness. So, for your own safety, I advice you to kneel, bow down and start adoring me and my awesomeness. My guardian will see this and not attack those who do my command."

Willing to believe anything just to be safe, the animals were about to drop to their knees when Skipper laughed haughtily.

"Seriously, you're all believing in Ringtail and his nutjob explanation?" he questioned, laughing again. "Should I even call it an 'explanation' or a 'joke'? Besides, if what Ringtail says is true, then we should blame him for directing those killings, right?"

The animals seemed to agree and shot glares at the lemurs.

"Okay, okay! The Monster Raptor is no guardian of mine," Julien confessed, close to tears, "I'm just really afraid and I don't want to get eaten and – "

"No one will get eaten. Not on my watch," Skipper said, determined then faced his audience, "okay, here's what I want you to do! Alert every animal outside to come in and seek refuge here. I've already sent Private on the alley cats, Rico on the pigeons and Alexander on the rats. All there's left is the park."

Everyone stirred yet again. Skipper raised a flipper to hush them down.

"I want you to share as much space as possible with the animals from outside," he continued, "make them feel at home 'cause this will be their home. Temporarily. Once everybody's inside, my team and I will search and perhaps put an end to the Monster Raptor's antics."

The animals nodded. The chimps, the lemurs and the badgers volunteered to warn the park residents. The ones left behind, on the other hand, fixed up their habitats to make room for the outsiders. Skipper sighed. Wherever he is, Kowalski will have to wait

_Few hours later…_

The zoo was overflowing with animals of different kinds. However, it still maintained the much needed peace. Alexander slipped a drug in Alice the zookeeper's drink that would make her sleep for a week, so that no human would find out.

The team watched from the clock tower as Marlene, Becky and Stacy gave out rations of food to everyone. Though it may seem like a mix-and-mash of animals, it was orderly and peaceful. Skipper made sure it would go like this.

"Skipper, do we have any idea where the Monster Raptor is?" Alexander asked.

"I…never thought of that," Skipper admitted, facepalming himself.

"I wished we had an eye in the sky so that we can have a full view of the city," Private sighed.

"Of course! " Skipper exclaimed, jumping onto his feet. "We need an eye in the sky! But who?"

The four thought and thought and thought until Rico came up with an idea. He began to caw and flap his flippers and act like a girl.

"Wait, are you suggesting her?" Skipper questioned and Rico nodded. "Well, I think that I and she can get along, just as friends. Come on, men! Let's search the tops of buildings for her nest."

They said their goodbyes to the animals and went to the city.

"Who are we looking for exactly, Skipper?" Alexander queried.

"Oh, just a good friend of mine," the leader replied, smiling coolly. "Make sure to be on her good side. I think lizards are also on her diet."


	3. Eye In The Sky

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**So, can you guess who they're going to meet up with?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

Eye In The Sky

After much searching, the boys finally found a nest on top of an apartment. It was heavily lined with feathers and they could make out faded blood stains.

"Skippah, why are we here again?" Private squeaked.

"Because she's the only one who can fill us on the details," Skipper answered, "she basically flies around New York so I think she has an idea of where the Monster Raptor lives. Now, if only she were here…"

As if on cue, a female falcon with reddish-brown plumage landed in front of them. Private quickly hid behind Rico.

"Skipper, nice to see you again," she greeted, fixing the feathers on her head.

"Ah, Miss Kitka," Skipper hailed, "you're still blooming."

The falcon giggled then settled on her nest.

"So, can I help you with something?" she asked.

That's when Skipper put on his serious face.

"Yes, you can," he answered, "there have been numerous attacks lately, all of which are to blame on a so-called Monster Raptor. Do you have any idea on this bird?"

Kitka dipped her head down and sighed.

"That creature killed my friend, Tyler," she said sadly, tears welling up in her eyes, "Tyler is a falcon like me."

"Impossible!" Alexander exclaimed. "From what I heard on nature documentaries, nothing would prey on a bird of prey since it's practically on the top of the food chain. Plus, the falcon is one of the world's fastest flyers, capable of reaching speeds up to 200 miles per hour!"

"But the Monster Raptor_ is_ faster," Kitka insisted as she shook her head. "Not only that, it comes out all of the sudden so you have no time to think or escape. That's what it did to Tyler. We were soaring above New York one night when it suddenly swooped in, grabbed Tyler and slashed him open with its terrible talons. And it all happened right in front of my eyes."

Private felt the urge to upchuck his lunch but he held it in.

"I managed to escape, but that scene will be forever burned in my memory," she continued, already crying. "I'm sorry. It's just that Tyler was a good friend, almost like a brother to me. He never deserved to die in a horrible way. Not in the Monster Raptor's talons."

"Miss Kitka, if you'll help us find the Monster Raptor, you can avenge your friend's death," Skipper stated, "that menace almost killed a friend of ours as well. Since it threatened everybody's lives, it became our responsibility to take it down once and for all."

Kitka wiped away her tears and looked at him.

"I will join you," she decided, "for Tyler. I'll make sure that it will pay for killing him."

The boys gave each other high fives. Kitka noticed something.

"Hey, weren't there four of you penguins?" she asked. "I only see three and a giant lizard."

"I'm a water monitor, lady," Alexander snapped.

"Where's the tallest guy?" The falcon inquired again. "You know, the one who always talks about science and stuff."

They all slumped down and sighed.

"He's…missing for three weeks now," Private explained, looking down.

"Uh huh," Rico agreed gloomily.

"And we can't find him," Skipper added as he sighed again.

"Oh okay," Kitka said, rubbing the back of her head. "Now that you mentioned it, I think I saw him the other day."

They perked up.

"Really? Where?" Skipper asked.

"In an alley not far from here," Kitka replied, "and he looked pretty tired and beaten up. I thought he was on one of your training exercises so I didn't bother to call him or you guys."

Skipper could visualize Kowalski's condition. Badly injured with cuts and bruises all over.

"And he seemed terrified," Kitka added, "in fact, he was running away from something, scurrying here and there like he was being chased."

_By who? _Skipper mentally questioned. _Maybe by some sewer rats or alley cats or loose dogs or human kids or worse, Officer X._

"Do you think…that the Monster Raptor was going after Kowalski, Skippah?" Private queried, summing up possibly the worst case scenario.

"Huh? Of course not, Private," Skipper answered sternly, hiding his shivers, "you know Kowalski. He's probably formulating options on how to survive or inventing some thing-a-mabob for protection."

"If so, then why didn't he come back to us and ask for some help?"

"Private's right, Skipper," Alexander concurred. "Why didn't he?"

The leader penguin contemplated for a while.

"I don't know," he sighed then turned to Kitka. "Miss Kitka, can you lead us to the alley?"

The falcon nodded then took off with the team following her closely.

_Hang on, Kowalski_, Skipper thought, _we'll be there to save you._


	4. Another One Bites The Dust

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**So they're heading to the place where Kitka last saw Kowalski. Will they find him there?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

Another One Bites The Dust

By sundown, the team and the falcon reached the alley.

"This is it. This is where I last spotted Kowalski," Kitka informed.

Skipper nodded as they all proceeded inside and began to call out the genius penguin's name. But they got no response.

_Where could he be? _Skipper asked himself.

The sun finally set and sky darkened, signaling nightfall. But none of them noticed this and went on with the search. Just then, something stirred behind some garbage bags. They approached cautiously and moved the bags out of the way just in time to see something big get up. It had black feathers with a white underside and face. It had huge talons and a hooked, bloodstained beak. There were enormous wings on each side and a feather crest on its head. It turned to the animals and looked at them with blood red eyes. It then let out a screech and left the ground with one powerful flap of its wings.

"It's the Monster Raptor!" Private squealed.

They quickly moved away as the Monster Raptor flew above them. It eyed them again one by one until its gaze settled on Skipper. It dove in but the penguin jumped out of the way. Angered, the predator went for him again. Rico leaped onto its back and pulled out some of its feathers. It cawed in pain, made somersaults and succeeded in shaking him off. Alexander tried to stop the bird but it was too strong so he got thrown onto a trash can. The Monster Raptor saw Private and darted after him, only to get knocked out of the way by Kitka and fall into a pile of trash.

"That was for Tyler!" she yelled.

Suddenly, she was pinned to a wall. She shrieked in agony as each of the Monster Raptor's talons sunk into her wings. The predator grinned at her evilly before it thrust its head into her chest.

"Kitka, NOOOOO!" Skipper screamed.

The Monster Raptor dropped the dead falcon onto the ground and started to rip off and feast on her flesh. Skipper wanted to lunge at it but his teammates caught him and they immediately retreated. They ran into another alley and hid in the dumpster there. Rico regurgitated a flashlight and turned it on.

"Let me go! I gotta save her!" Skipper ordered, struggling to get out of their grips.

"Skipper, calm down. The Raptor's too tough for us to handle," Alexander said, "and Kitka's gone. Nobody could survive something like that."

Skipper settled down and sighed.

"Let us…spare a moment for our fallen comrade," he stated and they all bowed their heads.

Then, there was a clang above them. Outside and atop the dumpster was the Monster Raptor, blood lining its beak and talons and staining some of its feathers. It looked around for its other quarries then flew off when he couldn't find them. Rico lifted up the dumpster's lid and gestured that the coast was clear. The team jumped out and went back to the alley where they first met the Monster Raptor. They came to Kitka's corpse, most of its flesh torn off and a large, gaping hole on its chest that revealed an empty inside. Private turned green and threw up on the spot as Rico patted his back.

"That bird knows what to eat," Alexander noted, inspecting the carcass, "it went for the soft internal organs. And all at once, too."

"So what's your point?" Skipper questioned, moving away from the body a bit.

"My point is that it ate the insides first instead of the outside. I think were dealing with something smarter than your average, instinct-driven predator. Who knows what its planning to do right now!"

"Men, we've got a serious killer in hand and we have to stop it!" Skipper declared then turned to the dead falcon. "But first, we should give Miss Kitka the honor that she deserves."

They buried the corpse in the park, marked it with a slab of concrete that served as a tombstone and saluted at it before they made their way back to the zoo.

"Hey, guys! Any luck?" Marlene greeted with a wave of her paw, once they were back. "Did you – whose blood is that? Are you hurt?"

They headed into the HQ and explained everything there.

"Oh, Kitka. Not really a close friend of mine, but she was a good person," Marlene sighed as she shook her head.

"So the Monster Raptor has another victim, eh?" Julien said as he came into the HQ. "What are we going to do? Are we all going to be eaten? If so, Maurice and Mort I want you to distract the monster by getting eaten."

"I love distracting!" Mort cried as Maurice facepalmed himself.

"I told you before that nobody's gonna be eaten!" Skipper exclaimed, shaking a fist. "No one else will fall prey to that Monster Raptor! No one! If we all die under that menace, then we're letting down all those who died before. And we're not gonna let that happen, understand?"

"Sir, yes Sir!" Everyone agreed.

"Good. Now I have a plan in mind…"


	5. Desperate Measures

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**RIP Kitka. So, the guys have a plan that could stop the Monster Raptor. Will it work? And yes, the Monster Raptor shall have another victim.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

Desperate Measures

Three days since Kitka died. Thankfully, there weren't any more reports on assaults courtesy of the Monster Raptor since the residents of New York learned not to roam the streets at night. And not only the human residents, but the animal ones as well. The boys always keep it orderly, denying any permission to go out of the zoo at night. All the animals agreed to this and so there was peace. Those who stayed outside the zoo made sure to only stroll around in the day and sleep in a secure place at night. All in all, everyone was safer and this made the Monster Raptor grow hungrier.

Now, when night came, Skipper and his team, knowing that the predator would be already starving, set up a trap in the park to capture the hunter, with Private as the lure.

"Everything's set, Sir," Alexander informed with a salute.

"Good. All we have to do now is to wait," Skipper said as he, Alexander and Rico hid in some nearby bushes and Private began to dance and shout in an open spot.

"Mr. Monster Raptor, here's one delicious penguin for you to snack on!" he kept on inviting as he did some more flips and waddles.

"Have the net ready, Rico. That bird will be here any second now," Skipper whispered and the psycho penguin nodded. "No one can resist Private's pudgy charm. Especially very hungry predators."

An hour passed. Then two. Three hours and still no sign of the Monster Raptor. Private was tired from all the jumping so he sat down in the open, panting a bit. The others continued to wait for their target.

"There's nothing, Skipper. Maybe the Monster Raptor left for another feeding ground," Alexander concluded.

Just before the leader could counter, his walkie-talkie went off.

"_Skipper, come in! Skipper!_"

The penguin took the device and began talking into it.

"Marlene, what's the matter? This better be good."

"_It's the Monster Raptor! It's here! And it's attacking Burt!_"

Skipper and Alexander exchanged shocked looks.

"Impossible! It may be big for us, but it's small for Burt. He can handle it."

"_No, Skipper. The Monster Raptor keeps on dodging Burt's strikes. It even dodged every single one of the coconuts and golf balls we shot at it. If this goes on, Burt might tire out then the Monster Raptor could kill him!_"

By now, Private and Rico were also listening. The young penguin looked worried while the weapons carrier had a blank yet wide-eyed expression on his face.

"Marlene, you and the others should hide in the safety of your habitats. We'll be there shortly. Don't come out until we get it done. I repeat, don't come out until it's done!"

"_Copy that, Skipper. Please hurry. I don't think Burt can keep this up any longer._"

Skipper turned off the walkie-talkie then faced his teammates.

"Men, looks like the Monster Raptor has found someone different and bigger to dine on. Operation: Crash The Dinner Party is a go. Let's roll!"

_Back at the zoo…_

Marlene and the other animals could only watch in horror from their hiding places as Burt the elephant continued to defend himself from the Monster Raptor's assaults. His trunk drooped lower and lower with each swing and his panting became heavy. His back was bombarded with wounds that only bled a little, thanks to his thick skin. To cool down, he flapped his ears rapidly like paper fans. This was the opportunity the Monster Raptor was looking for so it dove towards the exhausted elephant.

It was about to deliver the final blow when it sensed a projectile flying towards it and maneuvered out of the way, just in time to avoid an incoming rocket. It looked for its source and saw atop the zoo's clock tower a mohawk-wielding penguin holding up a smoking bazooka on his left shoulder. As the rocket exploded on a trash bin, the Monster Raptor zipped towards the shooter but was then kicked out of the way and into a wall. It shook its head as the bazooka penguin, two more penguins and a big lizard confront it. It flew off the ground and screeched angrily. And so, the battle commenced.

The fight led them out of the zoo and into the park. Alexander rammed into the Monster Raptor, making it stop its flight and they both fell into the nearby pond. The medic emerged from the water without a scratch.

"Thank you, regenerative abilities and water monitor genes!" he exclaimed.

"Where's the Monster Raptor?" Skipper asked, looking into the pond's water.

"Possibly at the bottom of the pond, right now," Alexander answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Predatory birds can't swim well."

Just then, the Monster Raptor's head popped out of the water in front of Skipper, grabbed his left flipper with its beak and pulled him into the water. The others went to the pond's edge and peered into the murky water below.

Skipper struggled to get out of the predator's hold and succeeded, but not without wounding his flipper. Blood mixed with the water as the penguin swam away with the Monster Raptor on his tail feathers.

_I thought Alexander said that birds like this guy can't swim_, he thought as he looked back.

The Monster Raptor seemed to glide through the water with ease, its wings tucked close to its body and its talons propelling itself fast through the water. It came in closer and began to snap its beak at the penguin's tail feathers.

Skipper dove out of the water with some of his tail feathers missing. The Monster Raptor burst out of the pond and into the air, wet all over and black feathers in its beak. It spat them out and was about to strike again when it saw Rico had his bazooka aimed and ready to fire. It felt tired because of all the chasing and dodging so it screeched out furiously and flew away. Rico growled and swallowed his bazooka.

"We gotta get that bandaged," Alexander said, motioning to Skipper's bleeding flipper. "And don't worry. I've got something I can research on."

He brought out a messy, black feather he had pulled out of the Monster Raptor's back from their fight earlier. Skipper nodded and they all went back to the zoo, eager to find out what secrets the feather could hold.

_Meanwhile…_

The Monster Raptor soared above New York City, worn out and frustrated about having nothing to eat. It then spotted a gray figure climbing out of a dumpster in a deserted alley. The figure was just a head shorter than it and very muscular, but he seemed to be too preoccupied with the roast chicken leg he got from the trash. The predator grinned wickedly then sped in.

There was a scream and a whirlwind of feathers. The Rat King lay on the concrete, unmoving and blood gushing out of a deep slash on his head. The Monster Raptor grinned again and landed on its prey's back. Looks like it was gonna have dinner after all.


	6. Alexander's Discovery

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**Yeah, so Burt got attacked by the Monster Raptor, Alexander got a feather of the Monster Raptor, Skipper's injured a bit and the Rat King's dead. Feel tension building up in ya? Good, 'cause the guys will find something about the feather that tells them that the Monster Raptor's no ordinary bird. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

Alexander's Discovery

Skipper sat by the table, mug of fish coffee in his right flipper. Last night, the Monster Raptor attacked and left Burt the elephant wounded, but not seriously. Still, the team wasn't able to capture it, though a feather was retrieved from the predator, which Alexander was now working on in the lab.

The leader turned to the rest of his team. Private was watching the Lunacorns show and Rico was busy brushing his doll girlfriend's hair. On one of their bunks was a lonely clipboard. Skipper sighed. They still haven't found Kowalski or any signs of him. What if Private's theory was right? What if the Monster Raptor did get Kowalski?

The lab's door suddenly burst open and Alexander came out. He looked shaken.

"Guys, you better come and see this," he said.

The penguins stopped what they were doing and proceeded into the lab with the monitor. Once inside, Alexander held up a piece of paper with a drawing of the feather in it that had arrows pointed at pictures of different birds.

"As I researched on the feather's structure, I found out that it had numerous avian genes in it," the medic informed, pointing a pencil at the pictures.

"To whom do these genes belong to?" Private asked.

"According to my observations, the most likely owners of these genes are the harpy eagle, the great horned owl, the peregrine falcon, the augur buzzard and…"

Alexander swallowed the lump in his throat.

"…a penguin."

His teammates froze, all having the same question in their minds: Could, by any chance, Kowalski be involved in this?

"Of course, there are a lot of possibilities that the penguin involved couldn't be Kowalski since this is scientifically and logically irrelevant," Alexander added, as if he read their minds. "However, I can't confirm this since the genes are practically fused together so well. If it weren't for my skill in genetics, I wouldn't have identified these vestiges."

"So you're telling us that the Monster Raptor is simply a mix of different birds?" Skipper inquired and the monitor nodded. "I don't know a lot about science, but I'm sure Mama Nature can't allow this to happen."

"You're right, Skipper," Alexander agreed, "this is unattainable in the wild. So I have an assumption that the humans might have done this. They do seem to have the equipment and right intellectual levels to be responsible for the Monster Raptor. I just don't have an idea on how they could do this."

"But this wouldn't explain why it had the guts to attack Burt last night," Private pointed out.

"I know and I find this unusual. Surely, regular birds of prey aren't dumb enough to assault something as large as an elephant, even when they are incredibly hungry," Alexander stated, all-knowingly. "Plus, elephants are pachyderms. Their hides are thick, like suits of armor to them. Their vulnerable areas are found on the soft spots right behind their ears."

"And that's why the Monster Raptor decided to strike while Burt flapped his ears. His weak spots were exposed!"

"Like what I told you guys before, the Monster Raptor is smarter than the average predator. Except that we now know that it's no average predator, but an amalgamation of different predators."

They stood there in silence. The discovery was obviously out of this world, impossible to be true. But here they were, a team of animals capable of bringing down humans and other things bigger than themselves, trying to stop a ferocious concoction of different birds that could take down an elephant. With all these as the conclusion, what else can't be possible? What else can't be done?

"Men, tonight we are going to capture the Monster Raptor and solve this mystery once and for all," Skipper proclaimed. "We are doing this for Miss Kitka and Burt and everyone else who has become a victim to that hazard. This is also for the safety and good of those who are still around."

"But Skippah, you're wounded," Private said, looking at his leader's bandaged left flipper.

"This is just a scratch. Manfredi and Johnson have been through worse when they got chased by some Amazons in the Amazon rainforest. Besides, if we get this finished right away, we'll have time again to look for Kowalski. And you wouldn't give up on that easily, would you?"

His soldiers furiously shook their heads. Rico coughed out a stick of dynamite.

"Kaboom?" he pleaded with puppy eyes.

"Yes, Rico, there will be kaboom," Skipper answered and Rico fistpumped. "Alright, men. Prepare everything we need for tonight. That Monster Raptor is going down."

Everybody nodded and began to pack up. Skipper went to their bunks and took the clipboard.

_Don't worry, Kowalski_. _The boys and I will get this over with and once we're through, we'll be searching for you again, no matter how far away you may be. I promise_, he mentally pledged as he placed the clipboard back onto the bunk.


	7. The Hunt For The Hunter

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**The boys are gonna get their holds on the Monster Raptor that is actually a combination of different birds, including a penguin. They sure are determined to take it down but will they have the guts to when they learn of another yet more shocking discovery? And what is this discovery? Read to find out!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

The Hunt For The Hunter

The Central Park Zoo's clock tower tolled loudly, signaling the time to be midnight. The team stood by the zoo's gates, prepared to leave. Skipper came to Marlene who stood by them.

"Skipper, please take care. Promise me you will," she requested, "that thing took so many lives away already and I don't want you guys to go as well."

"Marlene, no need to worry," he assured her with a smile and patted her shoulder. "We've got the skills to take down a whole army of lobsters. We can handle this. I promise we will."

The otter also smiled. The lemurs then came up to them.

"You are to be protecting me, yes?" Julien asked as Skipper rolled his eyes and nodded unwillingly.

"Whatever, Ringtail," the penguin grumbled then raised a flipper at the lemur when he was about to embrace him. "No hugs. We still aren't that close to be BFFs."

Private snickered, earning himself a glare from his commanding officer. He quickly became quiet.

"Marlene, I trust you can manage the zoo while we are away," Skipper said and the otter nodded. "Good then. Men, let's move!"

And so, the boys left their home with their friends waving goodbye. They then went through the silent streets of the city, searching for possible traces of to where their target might be. As they passed in front of an alley, Rico saw something in there and whistled to call his teammates' attentions. They turned to him and he pointed at the alley. They then headed into it and stumbled upon the smelly and fly-attracting carcass of the Rat King. Private immediately became sick but held it in.

"Alexander, analysis," Skipper ordered as the medic bent down and examined the remains.

"Judging by the amount of flesh ripped off, the number of flies buzzing around it and the intensity of its vile odor, I could estimate that this rodent has been dead for a day," he informed as he stood up straight again.

"It looks like the Raptor did get something to eat after its assault on the zoo the other day," Skipper said, "the Rat King may be an enemy but he had also fallen prey to the monstrosity that is the Monster Raptor. Therefore, his death shall be avenged as well!"

"Uh huh!" Rico agreed, upchucking his favorite flamethrower.

"Come on, soldiers! We have a killer to catch!"

Rico set the corpse ablaze and they saluted at it before they left and continued their search around the city. Hours have passed and they had no luck.

"Men, let us stop for a quick break," Skipper commanded as they settled by another alley.

Suddenly, they heard a tearing sound coming from the alley **(Why does it always have to be in the alleys?)**. They peered into it and saw the Monster Raptor feeding on a dead dog. Private covered up his beak to muffle a shriek. Skipper beckoned to move in. They were doing it silently and well when the predator raised its head and grinned at them savagely, blood dripping from its beak and onto the ground.

"Fall back!" Skipper yelled as the predator went after them.

They ran through the streets with the Monster Raptor flying towards them. Rico turned back and pulled the trigger of his flamethrower, releasing a burst of fire at their pursuer. The Monster Raptor simply moved out of the way and swooped in. Seeing that it was close enough, Alexander came to Rico's side and slashed at the predator with his well-sharpened claws. The bird screeched in pain as his claws cut the right side of its chest and its blood began to stain the white feathers in the area. To Alexander and Rico's surprise, the Raptor kept on fluttering its wings then went for another target, preferably the young and now tired Private. Skipper saw this and pushed him out of the way, only to be carried off by the Monster Raptor in its talons.

Skipper could see the buildings grow smaller as they soared higher into the sky. He felt the Raptor's talons digging into his body and he knew he had to get out fast. But how? Something trickled onto the penguin's face so he wiped it off and looked at it. Blood. He turned to its source and saw that he was near the wound Alexander made earlier. He jabbed it full-forcedly with his flipper and the Monster Raptor cried out, lost focus and fell into a pile of garbage with Skipper still in its talons.

Skipper climbed out of the pile, his back and belly decorated with cuts from the predator's talons and their tight grip. He laid himself on the ground and panted heavily. Just then, the Monster Raptor erupted from the pile and neared him, but then collapsed. The fall from high up in the sky left its right wing and left leg broken, restricting it from both flight and the ability to walk. Still, it stood up and glared at the penguin lain below it. Skipper looked into its terrible red eyes and closed his, waiting for the final blow to come. But it never did.

Puzzled, he sat up and saw the Monster Raptor on the ground, shrieking out in agony. Skipper looked at the sky above and saw it lightening up. Dawn was coming. He turned back to the predator just in time to see the most bewildering transformation in his entire life.

The Monster Raptor began to shrink. Its ruffled feathers became tidy. Its talons reduced in size and sharpness and its wings shriveled into flat, streamlined flippers. Its hooked beak straightened and its crest fell flat on its now dome-like head. Its cries deepened in tone and its eyes turned from a piercing blood red to a calm ocean blue.

Skipper gazed at the unconscious figure on the ground in front of him. No longer was it the Monster Raptor he feared and planned to capture. Instead, it was the one he and his team had been searching for almost a month already. Its beak, feet and white feathers were blotted with blood and the crimson fluid oozed from its chest's right side.

The others came and also stared at what was once the vicious predator. In shock, Skipper could only mutter one single word. A name, actually, that meant more to him now that he had found its owner, but in a horrible and unexpected way.

"Kowalski."


	8. Painful Memories

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**So, I probably got some of you saying "Oh my gosh!" or "I knew it!" or even "What the F?", right? Kowalski's the Monster Raptor? Who knew? Oh wait, I did. Let's see how his comrades try cope with this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

Painful Memories

The only things Kowalski could remember from last night were flying with something in his feet and falling out of the sky and into a not-so-soft pile of junk. He rubbed his forehead and was about to sit up when his instincts told him that he was about to hit something if he did. He opened his eyes to see the concrete ceiling of his bunk. He looked around and found himself in the HQ. How did he get here?

He sat up, this time dipping his head to avoid bumping onto his bunk's ceiling. He was in the lowermost bunk so he quickly got onto his feet, only to have a pang of pain surge through one of his legs. He sat back onto his bunk and noticed his left leg in a cast. His right flipper was also in a cast and was held up by a sling. His entire torso was wrapped up in bandages.

"I see you are awake, soldier," someone suddenly said, making him jump and bump his head onto the bunk ceiling.

Kowalski rubbed the sore spot then looked up to see Skipper smiling at him. In his right flipper was his mug of fish coffee and his left flipper was on his belly that was strangely also in bandages. Kowalski's eyes widened. He remembered everything from last night, even from all those past nights. And he remembered that it was he himself who created those wounds beneath the wrappings around his leader's belly and lower back.

"Don't…don't come near me," he stuttered as he moved away and came to one corner of his bunk.

"Calm down, Kowalski," Skipper appealed, nearing his lieutenant. "Everything's fine and – "

"I'm a monster…please…don't…"

"You're no monster."

"Yes, I am! I've slaughtered so many people. I almost killed Fred…and Burt…and…and you!"

Kowalski cowered in his corner, his good flipper covering his eyes as he began to sob. Skipper could only stand there, feeling sad for him. He set his mug onto the floor, bent down and gave the scientist a hug as he patted his back slowly.

"Hush now, Kowalski. Everything will be alright," the leader penguin cooed, stroking the back of Kowalski's head.

Alexander, Rico and Private jumped through the hatch and into the HQ.

"Skippah," Private called, "we're – "

Alexander held the young penguin's beak, shook his head and pointed at Skipper trying to comfort Kowalski. Both Private and Rico nodded and the monitor let go of the beak. They stood there in silence before Skipper got up and turned to them.

"Oh, there you guys are," he sheepishly stated, grabbing his mug then sipped the fish coffee in it. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to see everything," Alexander answered, grinning.

Skipper flinched, but then put his serious face back on. He then helped Kowalski get up.

"Now, can you tell us how this happened?" he asked and the tall penguin nodded.

Everyone settled by the table and Kowalski began to explain.

"A month ago, on the night I disappeared, I went out to find the missing ingredient for my experiment. And that was when I was captured by Officer X."

His listeners gasped and he continued.

"He brought me to this laboratory that had many more humans in white lab coats and glasses. He handed me to them and they put in a cage. Then…"

He paused and shuddered. Skipper could tell that this wasn't good.

"They performed experiments on me. They stuck needles here and there. They made me drink these substances so horrible that they made me want to cut my stomach open and let it all out. They whipped me and beat me up to see what my reaction to pain was and how much of it I could endure. All of the things they did made me wanna kill myself but they wouldn't let me. This went on for days, same torture and same desire to end my own life."

His teammates could feel anger brewing within them. They all had clenched fists and tightly furrowed eyebrows

"Then, it came. The humans shackled me to this cold, metal table. I could hear them talking about this experiment they were planning to test. It was about creating a creature that was a combination of different animals and possessed their remarkable abilities. Right before I could fully understand this, they injected in this glowing blue fluid and started to electrocute me, saying that this could activate the fluid's effect. When nothing happened, they shocked me again and again."

Everybody could imagine the cruelty that Kowalski had been through. This only made them madder.

"Night came and that's when it really happened. Pain like none I have ever experienced before spread throughout my body. It was worse than the torment the humans gave me. I felt my form change but my mind was filled with darkness. I didn't know what I was doing until the next day."

He breathed in deeply, clutching the right side of his chest as he did so.

"I woke up next thing in the morning with a dead human by my side, practically torn open and missing his insides. I was befuddled, especially when I found my wounds to be healed and my beak, feet and chest feathers stained with blood. I cautiously went to the open window of an apartment nearby and listened to the news on the TV. The reporter said of a warehouse filled with slain humans whose bodies were ripped up and partially eaten. Then, I remembered that it was I who killed all those humans. That the blood on my beak, feet and feathers was theirs. I ran away, knowing that I could possibly endanger you guys and everyone around me. But I couldn't get away from the fact that every night, after the sun sets, I turn into a hideous, barbaric monster that preys on every being of flesh and blood, young or old, animal or human, killing it mercilessly then devouring its insides like a primitive carnivore."

Kowalski looked down again, sighing sadly and tears streaming down his face.

"I never wanted to kill anyone. I tried to control the transformation, I really did. But the monster within me is just too powerful to overcome. That's why I didn't come back. I don't want to hurt my friends and everyone whom I cherish and hold dear. But I still did. I will never forgive myself for what I did to Kitka and her friend. To Fred and his companions. To Burt and even to the Rat King."

He then gazed at Skipper straight in his eyes.

"And especially to you, Skipper. Because of these crimes I have committed, I truthfully accept that I am a monster. A merciless killer. A savage barbarian. A menace."

The tall penguin stood up and came to Rico.

"That's why I have decided that the only way to stop the monster that I am…"

He punched Rico's belly with his good flipper, took the knife that came out of his beak and handed it to Skipper.

"…is to kill me."


	9. Decisions

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**This chapter is mainly Skipper's and Kowalski's POVs, including a bit of the Monster Raptor's. Will Skipper kill his lieutenant to save the lives of many? The answer : No. The results: Read to find out!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

Decisions

_**Skipper's POV**_

"No, I will not do this," I refused, taking the knife from Kowalski to make sure that he won't do any attempts.

"But, Skipper, I beg you," he pleaded, "this is for everybody's sake! Killing me will end the Monster Raptor's wrath and save New York!"

"You said that some humans injected a fluid into you. That could have caused your transformation, right, Alexander?"

"Right, Skipper," my medic answered with a nod of his head. "And since it resulted into vile effects, we can call it a 'poison'. And every human-made poison has an antidote, just as how every human is ignorant enough to make stuff with weaknesses."

"But there's no other choice," Kowalski kept on insisting, "the monster is too strong. And I killed all those humans who experimented on me, remember?"

For a second there, he was right and we became silent. He walked up to Alexander.

"Alexander, as a fellow scientist, you understand this situation we are in now, right?" he asked and the monitor nodded slightly. "Good. Then kill me."

"I might be sadistic, but I won't kill you," Alexander also turned down. "It's not in my nature to slaughter slowly and painfully a comrade of mine."

Kowalski came to Rico.

"Rico," he started, "you possibly hate me anyway. Here's your chance to – "

"Uh uh," my weapons carrier declined with his flippers in front of him.

Kowalski then turned to Private.

"Private – "

"No, Kowalski, what you are doing is wrong," Private rejected, stepping back as he shook his head.

"Since when was slaying the monster who slew so many wrong, huh? You will be doing everybody a favor! Don't act so darn selfish now that the fates of New York and its residents are in your flippers! It's – "

I couldn't stand it anymore. I interrupted him by slapping his right cheek to bring him back to his senses.

"Fish and chips, man!" I exclaimed and startled my team. "It should be _you_ who should stop being selfish. Don't you see that you have allies here who can help cure you? That there's always another way around the gap?"

He shook his head while rubbing his cheek.

"This gap," he stated coldly, "is impossible to get around. Even science can't decipher this – "

"Then screw science! We'll solve this in our own way!"

"And I'll only hurt you guys! I won't let that happen. If you can't finish the job, I'll find someone else."

He ran towards our HQ's ladder and climbed outside. I couldn't let him get away. He may be the Monster Raptor but he's also my lieutenant. My teammate. My responsibility. He and my team are almost like a family to me.

"Boys, he may be right, but he is our comrade. Remember our credo. Never swim alone."

My soldiers nodded and I threw my mug to the side.

"Let's roll and save Kowalski!"

_**Kowalski's POV **_

I slid off as fast as I could to the zoo gates. I needed to get away from here, from where my friends are. I have no control over the monster in me and they will only end up either seriously injured or slaughtered as prey.

I was almost there when Julien and his followers came in front of me.

"Hey, smart-y penguin! Can you, like, fix the blender?" he requested as I came into a skidding halt. "I am to be needing the royal smoothie! It is on my schedule, right, Maurice?"

I turned to the aye-aye lemur who was flipping through a calendar.

"Uh, yes, King Julien. It is on your schedule," he answered.

"I love King Julien's schedule!" Mort exclaimed beside Maurice.

I rolled my eyes and was about to shout at them to get out of my way when I saw Skipper and the rest of the team coming after me. I quickly pushed through but the pain in my left leg stopped me short. I removed the cast around it just in time to see a gash heal right before my very eyes. I also undid the one on my flipper and found it as good as new. That was when I realized it.

I turned to the sky and noticed the sun setting. Oh no. This can't be good.

_**Skipper's POV**_

Kowalski fell to the ground, arching his back and wrapping his flippers around his stomach. His face was twisted with agony. I told my men to stop and we approached him cautiously.

"Um, what is to be happening to the smart-y penguin?" I heard Ringtail ask but I ignored him.

My lieutenant opened his eyes and they were blood red. I gasped and yelled at everyone to fall back. We all got away from him as he began to change. He grew larger and his feathers ruffled up. His beak gained a hooked tip and his feet got sharp claws. His flippers stretched outwards as long feathers sprouted from them, turning them into wings. He flapped them and he hovered off the ground, just as a crest rose up from his head.

Ringtail squealed as Kowalski flew above him. He then sprinted away with Mort and Maurice by him.

"The smart-y penguin! He is the Monster Raptor!" he shrieked, alarming the whole zoo.

Soon, there was screaming everywhere and my team and I covered our earholes. Kowalski screeched and landed right on top of me. Private, Alexander and Rico rushed in to my aid but he knocked them away with a swipe of his wing. He then turned back to me and grinned at me, a hungry look on his face.

_**Kowalski's POV**_

Everything around me was black. The Monster Raptor must have taken over and started to create havoc. I began to concentrate so that I could at least have a glimpse of what was going on. I saw Skipper under me and he looked terrified. The Monster Raptor was going to have him for supper!

I gasped. There was no way to control the Raptor. I tried several times and failed to be its master. And now, my leader's life will be ended while I'm in here, doing nothing. I gotta do something to stop the Monster Raptor.

I called out its name, desperate to save Skipper's life. Just when I was about to lose hope, this bird appeared in front of me. Its plumage coloration was the same as mine, but it had a hooked beak, terribly sharp talons, enormous wings and a feather crest on its head. It opened its eyes and looked at me. It had creepy red eyes. Was this what the Monster Raptor looked like? Was this what I turned into every time the sun sets and night comes?

I swallowed the lump in my throat. This is my chance.

"Excuse, Mr. Monster Raptor, I would like to make a request – "

"If it's letting go of my supper, don't even think about it," it snapped at me in a harsh, cold voice.

"Please, if you let my friends go I can find you something better to eat," I kept on begging.

To my surprise, the Raptor threw its head back and laughed bitterly. Its cackle was as frigid as its voice and it sent chills down my spine.

"You? Find me better food?" it questioned as it guffawed even more. "You don't know how long I've wanted to devour your flightless friends and that walking handbag with a brain and claws! I want revenge for making me postpone my feast on the elephant!"

"I guarantee that they would bother you no more," I assured, "just don't take them as your prey."

It put a wing under its beak in thought. It then nodded.

"Very well, Kowalski," it agreed, "I will spare them, even the entire zoo. If they ever get in my way again, I will rip them apart slowly and painfully."

I was overjoyed and relieved that my friends and the whole zoo would be safe.

"Thank you, Mr. Monster Raptor! I will make sure that they would never interfere with you again. I promise!"

"Remember, this the only favor I shall grant," the Raptor reminded as it slowly faded into the blackness around us. "Never again will you ask for another. Understand?"

I nodded then sighed when it disappeared. I will have to stay away from the team and the zoo if I want them safe. But I would do anything for their safety and I just made a pact with the Monster Raptor to ensure their well-beings. I smiled and let the blackness engulf me as well.

_**Skipper's POV**_

I watched as the Monster Raptor on top of me licked the edges of his beak. I never expected that I would die in the talons of my lieutenant. Kowalski was right. There was no way to stop him from turning into the Monster Raptor.

He brought his head down so we were staring at each other eye-to-eye. Suddenly, there was a quick yet noticeable ocean blue glint in his blood red eyes. I gasped and the Raptor grinned at me in a sinister way.

"You're lucky that your genius friend made an agreement with me," he whispered.

Hiss voice sounded just like Kowalski's, only darker and deeper in tone.

"My genius friend?" I asked, then it hit me. "You mean, Kowalski?"

"Yes," the Raptor answered, still grinning sadistically, "I granted the only favor I gave him. And that is to spare your miserable life. Including those of the zoo residents'."

He got off of me and turned away. I sat up and stared at him wide-eyed.

"So if you don't want to break his promise, don't get in my way ever again," he warned and flew off.

_**Monster Raptor's POV**_

That Kowalski should be grateful that I let those pathetic animals live. And if we ever cross paths again, I will not hesitate to kill and devour them. Now that I left the zoo, what am I supposed to eat? I'm darn longing for meat to satisfy my hunger and blood to quench my thirst!

I spotted a pigeon flying right below me. It seemed fat and juicy. But one pudgy pigeon won't fill my stomach, so I followed it, hoping that it would lead me to its flock. And of course, I was right. It landed on top of an apartment where many other pigeons were roosting. I could feel my mouth water at the sight of those plump and succulent fowls, sleeping peacefully and not knowing that I will strip them of their flesh and insides. I dove in, quickly and silently. Finally, dinner is served.


	10. A Price To Pay

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**Sorry for not updating for some time now. Blame it on Reason No. 1 in my profile! Anyway, I'm planning to finish this fanfic before November ends just to catch up with the Halloween vibe.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

A Price To Pay

Kowalski found himself on top of an apartment the next morning, surrounded by numerous mauled corpses of pigeons. He shook his head in disappointment and slipped into the apartment. Luckily, no one was there so he used the bathroom to wash off the blood covering most of his white feathers, beak and feet. He then went into the kitchen, opened the fridge and ate some of the fish he found there. He slept a bit on the couch before he left the building. He crept here and there, avoiding the humans passing by. He finally settled in an alley where he took some time to catch his breath.

He knew that this was how he would be living now, a runaway by day, looking for a place to hide, and a murderer by night, feeding on living flesh and blood. He made a deal with his nocturnal self, the Monster Raptor, that he would keep his friends out of the way to maintain their safety. And the only way to do that, he perceived, was to be as far away from them as possible. So he decided to get away from the zoo, his former home and sanctuary, and live life in the streets, creeping around stealthily like a fugitive.

He sighed. It was going to be hard, but it would be worth it. Skipper and the rest of the team and zoo residents would be safe and that's what mattered the most. He was a danger to them and could end all of their lives in only one night. He didn't want that to happen.

Heavy steps snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see a man in a suit and shades with a shock baton in one hand and a net in the other.

"Well, well. We meet again, penguin," he said, turning on his shock baton.

Kowalski gasped. It was Officer X! He jumped out of the way as the baton was thrust towards him. He landed on top of a dumpster and was about to toboggan away when a jolt of electricity surged throughout his body. He fell to the ground, unconscious and jerking a bit because of the sudden shock. Officer X grinned slyly and put the penguin into his net. He then boarded his van and drove off. What he didn't know was that Kowalski's struggle to escape left some of his feathers hidden behind a garbage bag.

After some time of driving, Officer X arrived at a rundown warehouse by a loading dock. He entered it and met up with a man in a torn and stained lab coat. His face was wrapped in bandages but his eyes, nose and mouth were uncovered.

"Here's the penguin you've been searching for," Officer X informed, handing the man the net Kowalski was in.

The man brought up the net to eye level and looked at the penguin who was still out cold.

"Good. I shall finish the experiment my colleagues have started," he stated and gave Officer X some money. "This is your payment. Thank you for your services. You are no longer needed."

Officer X took the cash, shoved it into his pocket and walked away. But he turned back to see the man smiling menacingly at his captive. Though the officer knew that the penguin in the net was a stray and therefore has no connection with the zoo, he didn't like the grin on his employer's face. It told him that the man was going to do something bad to the animal.

He shook his head and zoomed off in his van, not knowing that his hunch was right.

_Hours later…_

Kowalski woke up and noticed that he was dangling above the ground. He looked up and saw that his flippers were in shackles. He tried to break free but the restraints were just too tight. In fact, it hurt him whenever he attempted to get out. A loud slashing sound and a sudden sting on his back stopped his struggling. He looked over his shoulder and could get a glimpse of a new gash on his back. He heard a cackle and the man with the bandaged-up face moved out of the shadows in the area with a whip in hand.

"So, I guess you are wondering why you are here, hmm?" the guy indicated and Kowalski nodded slightly. "About a month ago, a team of scientists decided to put an experiment of theirs to the test. And do you know what this was?"

Kowalski shook his head and the man lashed his whip onto the penguin's back again, creating a new wound over the first one.

"It was you, you dumb animal!" the man shouted as blood dripped from the whip's tip. "And to think that in that Officer X's reports, you seemed to be the smartest of the penguins he always failed to catch, therefore, you were the perfect subject."

He walked in front of Kowalski, hands and whip behind his back and looking far into the distance.

"We needed a specimen that could maintain control of the transformations. A specimen that had enough intellectual prowess," he continued, "think of it! The DNAs of five different species, all cooperating in a single organism! It would be a scientific breakthrough!"

The man turned to Kowalski and crouched down so they were exactly looking at each other in the same level.

"We were planning to do it on a raven since it is one of the most intelligent species of birds. But when we obtained Officer X's reports, we just had to get our hands on you! You had the right enough intellect. Plus, you had combat skills and the ability to jet through water like a torpedo!"

Kowalski's eyes widened. How did this human know about his fighting expertise?

"Don't be so surprised! We were watching you and your teammates secretly," the man answered, then roughly gripped his fingers around Kowalski's beak. "And we were wrong to choose you. Turns out that your experience in battle made things worse. It fueled the Monster Raptor's rage so much that not even your enhanced brain could handle it. You killed my colleagues and destroyed everything I researched for in my entire life! If you weren't so blinded by your bloodlust that night, I wouldn't have made it out alive."

The man let go of the penguin's beak, went to a nearby table and grabbed the syringe resting on top of it. Kowalski recognized the glowing blue substance in the syringe as the fluid that caused his change and began to struggle again.

"You ruined everything that made my life worth living," the man snarled, "and I want my revenge. You will pay for the destruction you did, for taking away the lives of many!"

He plunged the syringe's needle into the side of Kowalski's neck and injected the fluid. As he got away, the penguin began to shudder and transform into the Monster Raptor. It thrashed here and there, not minding the pain the chains around its wings were unleashing. The man whipped its back once more, making the bird shriek in agony. He lashed at it again several times, each screech getting louder and more blood splattering onto the floor.

"Yes! That's it! Cry out for mercy, you bloodthirsty fiend! For you shall get none!" the man cackled sadistically, flogging his whip again and again.

He paused for a break then turned his gaze onto his prisoner. The Monster Raptor's back had cuts here and there and some of its feathers were stripped off, revealing swollen and torn skin. Blood flowed freely from the wounds and left a red mess on the floor. The Raptor was panting heavily and its eyelids drooped over its eyes loosely. One more slash from the whip could knock it out cold or might even kill it, if strong enough.

The man raised his whip, prepared to lay the final blow when he suddenly fell to the ground, unconscious. The Monster Raptor felt the chains that held it up loosening and it was soon on the floor, bathing in a pool of its own blood. It saw blurs of black and white around it before everything suddenly turned black.


	11. Is This Farewell?

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**I'd like to apologize for another late update. I had a terrible case of writer's block and it took me days to urge myself to type up new chapters again. Anyway, as I've promised, I have conquered the war and became ze Vanquisher, not ze Vanquished. :D**

**On with the story! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

Is This Farewell?

_**Skipper's POV**_

After the Monster Raptor left, I immediately called for a conference in the Zoovenir Shop. And as I expected, my team and I were bombarded by a whole lot of questions.

"Is your teammate Kowalski really the Monster Raptor?"

"How did this happen?"

"Can he be cured?"

"Will he stay like that forever?"

"What if he develops a taste for fresh meat even after he's cured?"

The shop was full of commotion. I nodded at Rico and he regurgitated a little chalkboard. I grazed it with the tip of my beak, creating a loud screech that silenced everyone and made me earn their attention.

"Yes, Kowalski is the Monster Raptor," I answered then raised my flipper to prevent another hubbub. "A month ago, he was taken and experimented on by some humans, which resulted into his nightly transformations. We still do not know if he could be cured or if he would be the Monster Raptor forever. But I guarantee you that he will not crave for meat or that if he does, we will put a stop to this and put seafood back into his diet."

There was another uproar so I scratched the chalkboard again and made everything and everyone quiet. I was about to talk again when Ringtail came up and faced the crowd.

"My beloved people!" he called out and every face turned to him. "Now that we know who that dreaded Monster Raptor is, I suggest that we charge at him with pitchforks and torches so that the threat will be eliminated!"

I growled and shoved him out of the way. I hate it when my speeches get interrupted. Especially, by him and his crackpot ideas.

"No pitchforks! No torches!" I yelled at his face then turned back to the others. "We all know Kowalski. He has done so many things for us like fix the ventilation system, solve math and science questions, create options on how to retrieve snowcones and cotton candy for all of us to enjoy! He would never want to harm us. In fact, earlier this morning, he wanted us to kill him so that the Monster Raptor would be no more!"

Everyone seemed to doubt this. But I still went on.

"Kowalski has no control over his transformations. So he had no will to kill or hurt people. And since he is my comrade, he is also my responsibility. My team and I will find a cure for him and his transformations. We will do our best to turn him back to normal. He deserves to be right here, with friends and allies he can trust, not out there and as some kind of fugitive!"

I felt something warm on my shoulder. I turned to it to see Marlene's paw. I smiled at the otter and she smiled back.

"Skipper, is there anything we can do for Kowalski?" she asked.

"If we get him back, I want you to forgive him for his crimes and forget every harm he has done," I answered, "I know this would be hard, especially to those he has injured or taken away their loved ones from – "

"Aw, it's okay with me," Burt said happily, "Kowalski is a good guy and has contributed his part to this zoo well. Besides, he didn't want to hurt people since he can't control himself."

"Archie and Antonio will forgive him if they were here, because that's what I would do," Fred added.

"Well, the smart-y penguin did fix the royal bouncy before," Ringtail shrugged off, though I was glad he saw my point.

Everybody nodded and agreed to pardon his mistakes. I felt so warm inside and I tried to hold back my tears of joy.

"Thank you, all of you, for consideration," I stated, "now if you'll excuse us, my team and I will be off to search for him and bring him back here, his home."

And so, we left the zoo and began to look for him. We left no stone unturned and no trash can uninspected. Then, we came to this alley where we found some black and white feathers.

"Yup, these are definitely Kowalski's," Alexander concluded after he scrutinized them carefully. "I presume he was captured and tried to struggle free, but failed."

"Who could have done this?" Private inquired.

I was about to guess when we heard footsteps. We came into our battle stances as we turned around. It was Officer X. This can't be good.

"Before you animals attack, I think I'd like to tell you something," he said smoothly, "I know where your friend is."

I gasped and beckoned my men to stand down. I knew Alexander was going to object so I turned to him and shook my head. I then faced the human.

"And I have a bad feeling that he's in trouble," Officer X added as we just stood there in shock. "Normally, I would do my job with no doubts whatsoever, but I sensed that my previous employer was planning to do something to your teammate. Something nasty."

I glared at him. This could be a trap to capture us and bring us to the pound.

"Look, I know that I wouldn't care about strays, but I'm against animal cruelty."

Against animal cruelty? What about those times when he tried to incarcerate us? My suspicion grew, but so did my uneasiness. What if Kowalski _was_ in the hands of a tormentor? What if that guy had some torture planned out for him?

I turned to my soldiers. They all had worried looks on their faces. I could also tell that they're getting anxious about Kowalski's current condition.

"If you want to save him, you better come with me," Officer X offered, settling on one knee and holding out his hand for a handshake. "Consider this a temporary truce between you and me. And I'm only doing this because animal cruelty is wrong, and not because you strays need help."

With slight hesitation, I took his hand and shook it. The human then stood up, let us board his van and drove us off to a shabby warehouse by the loading docks. He dropped us off there and went off. Using grappling hooks, we hung onto the wall and in front of a window so that we could have a view of what was going on inside.

There was this human in a tattered lab coat and had a face wrapped up with bandages, except that we could see his eyes, mouth and nose. He had a whip in hand which he lashed out at a black and white figure suspended above the ground by chains. We gasped. The figure was Kowalski.

Through the window's dusty panes, we could make out a long gash on his back, already bleeding. Then, the human started to monologue about something called an experiment and asked Kowalski a question. When my lieutenant couldn't answer, the man whipped him again, producing a new wound on his back that ran on top of the first one.

I could feel rage building up within me. This guy was persecuting a teammate of mine brutally. If I hadn't have self-control, I would have barged in there, took the whip from him and flogged him to death. I looked at my teammates. Rico and Alexander were obviously furious, for they had clenched fists and furrowed eyebrows. Private also seemed angry but he had tears in his eyes and was breathing loudly.

I turned back to the horrible scene, just in time to see the human thrust a needle into the side of Kowalski's neck. I had enough. I ordered everyone to climb down and we began to look for an entrance into the warehouse. We found the back door but it was locked. Rico coughed out a paper clip, shaped it and used it to unlock the door. He was successful and we entered and made our way to where the man and Kowalski were. We saw the human beating Kowalski again, but this time, he wasn't Kowalski. Instead, screeching out loud as the whip made contact with his back was the Monster Raptor. With each strike the Raptor cried out, each shriek filled with more pain than the last one.

I couldn't stand this. Sure, the Monster Raptor took away lives mercilessly and ate raw meat for supper. But he was also Kowalski, my right hand, options guy, teammate and responsibility. I don't want to see him or his alter ego, the Monster Raptor, get hurt. I admit that I could be harsh on him at times, but it was for his own good. And this whipping had nothing to do with it. This was brutality. This was torture.

Rico quietly slid behind the man when he was resting. He then raised his whip to strike again and that's when I gave out the signal. Rico jumped up and hit the back of the man's neck, an instant knockout. The human fell to the ground with a thud and Alexander clambered onto the chains that held up the Monster Raptor. Using his sharp claws, my medic picked the locks. There was a click and the Raptor dropped to the floor like a stone and onto a puddle of blood. Alexander landed next to the unconscious predator and began to examine his back.

"Well, how is he?" I asked when Private, Rico and I came to his side.

"This is bad, Skipper," the monitor answered as he shook his head, "he lost a great amount of blood and the lashing almost crushed his vertebrae. One more strike could snap his spinal cord into two."

I looked at the Monster Raptor's back. It was studded with long lacerations deep enough to allow my eyes to have a glimpse of heavily scarred bone beneath the swollen skin and muscles. I realized that Private was also seeing this so I covered his eyes with a flipper. He was too young to see things like this. Then again, he did witness Kitka's death…

The Raptor moved a bit and I saw his left eye open up slowly. I stared at him as he stared at me. His eye was bloodshot and the iris was a rather dull red. His eyelid covered up half of it and it threatened to close shut any time now. Then, I saw that sudden blue glint again, right before the Raptor closed his eye. He was still breathing so I was relieved.

I turned back to Alexander. He was on a nearby table with beakers and test tubes and other lab stuff on top of it. I came to him and, to my surprise and horror, he held up a syringe so suddenly that I almost fell off the table.

"What in the name of Gandhi's nunchucks? Watch where you're holding up that thing!" I exclaimed, moving away slightly.

"Sorry, Sir," Alexander apologized, lowering the needle a bit. "It's just that I was excited to find the substance responsible for Kowalski's nocturnal alterations."

He unscrewed the needle's top and scooped up a little droplet in the syringe with an empty test tube. He then showed it to me. The fluid inside was literally a glowing blue.

"I recognized this liquid as the one the human injected into Kowalski earlier, causing him to change into the Monster Raptor again, even when it's not nighttime," Alexander further explained.

Now that he mentioned it, I was wondering how Kowalski turned into the Monster Raptor when it's still not dark out yet.

"If I could just add in a few more ingredients and mix it all together, I would possibly have a cure for Kowalski. I have the proper tools and equipment here," he added and gestured at the lab stuff, "but I'll need some time."

"And there is, soldier," I answered then turned to my other comrades, "Rico, secure the human and make sure he won't escape. Then give me some bandages. I'll wrap up Kowalski's wounds. Private, help Rico."

My arms hauler coughed out a few rolls of gauze bandages and proceeded to tie up the human with some aid from Private. I took the rolls, dressed up the Raptor's back and made sure the bleeding stopped.

Whatever Alexander was doing, it was taking him hours. He was blending in different chemicals with the blue fluid and heated it up every once in a while. Finally, after some two hours or so, he jumped off the table and came to the Monster Raptor with the syringe in hand. It was now filled with a milky white liquid of some sort.

"This is it. I did some improvising but it will work," he said then gulped, "I hope."

Cautiously, he took the Raptor's right wing, pushed in the needle slowly and inserted the fluid. Once the syringe was empty, he pulled the needle out and moved away. The Raptor shuddered a bit then began trembling wildly. Suddenly, he stopped and lay still on the ground.

"I don't understand! It could have worked! I…I made sure," he stated in disbelief.

"Is Kowalski…is he dead?" I heard Private squeak.

I turned to the Monster Raptor. He wasn't breathing anymore and it looked like he will never wake up. Private wrapped his flippers around me as he cried over my shoulder. I patted his back as I felt tears welling up in my eyes and streaming down my face.

"Men, a moment for our…dear Kowalski," I sighed sadly and we all bowed down our heads. "He was…a good soldier. He may have created stuff that, at most of the time, backfire…but that always completes our day."

"Uh huh," Rico agreed glumly, also crying.

"He was a comrade like no other," Private declared through sobs, "he was like a brother…to me…to all of us…"

"Yeah," Alexander concurred sullenly, "he was the only one I could talk to about science. And I often come to him for advice and details and things like that. He will always be remembered…"

"Aye," we chimed together.

Rustling and struggling interrupted the moment. We turned to its source and found the human, wide awake and angry. He grabbed his whip and began thrashing here and there.

"You insolent creatures! You've disrupted my plans!" he exclaimed as we dodged his slashes. "You'll pay for that!"

He knocked Private out cold. He then slammed Alexander hard against the wall and kicked Rico out of the way.

"You must be their leader," he snarled at me.

I tried to retreat but he lashed me down. Great, now I've got a new wound on my side! He snatched me and began to tighten his grip around me. I yelled out in pain as I felt some of my bones crack.

"Time for you to join your barbaric friend in heaven," he whispered to me.

Is he right? Is this truly the end of the road for me? Will I die right here, right now?


	12. Another Chat With The Monster Raptor

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**Second to the last chapter! I know I made it look like it in the previous chapter, but Kowalski is not dead. He's just in a state between life and death. So now, let's see what he was doing while he was in this state.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

Another Chat With The Monster Raptor

_**Kowalski's POV**_

I seemed to be floating in some kind of white, misty space. A while ago, I suffered from this terrible pain on my back, almost unbearable. But now, I feel at utmost peace and tranquility, both of which I find strangely yet delightfully unearthly.

Just then, the Monster Raptor appeared right in front of me. I cried out in surprise.

"Happy to see me again?" it joked, grinning widely and menacingly.

I shook my head slowly and the bird in front of me frowned.

"You should be," it huffed, turning away from me and folding its wings across its chest.

"Why?" I asked, my voice shaky and tensed.

The Raptor looked over its shoulder and back at me, smiling wickedly once more.

"Your teammates interfered yet again," it said.

I gasped. I remembered the deal I made with the Raptor a while back. I pledged not to let Skipper and the rest of the team get in the way. Now, it looks like my promise is broken and the Raptor will slaughter them.

I made a move to plead for another chance but the Raptor raised a wing at me.

"Hold your horses, man! I'm still not finished," it informed, facing me again. "I know that news of your comrades' nosiness won't cheer you up, so let me get to the point."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly and nodded for more explanations.

"Yeah, so your friends showed their faces to me again. But in a way that I didn't expect they would."

I raised a brow in confusion.

"Do you remember where you were before you ended up here?"

I thought for a while. Then it came to me.

"I remember being in this, oh I don't know, dark room or something," I answered as I quivered a bit. "And there was this human whose face was in bandages. Then he started talking about me being a science experiment and he whipped me and – "

"I know," the Raptor interrupted, "it was horrible. All that torment. I went through it as well. And that's why I'm here."

"Are we in…you know – "

"Heaven? Nah, we're currently suspended between life and death, somewhere deep in your subconscious. We've got a long way to go. At least, you do, that is…"

"I'm afraid I don't comprehend…"

The Raptor placed its wings on my shoulders. I never knew that someone as cold-blooded and threatening and bloodthirsty as this guy could have a warm touch. Strange, its blood red eyes seemed to glow in a soft and gentle manner.

"Your friends saved our lives, or in a more proper way, the life you and I share," the Raptor stated, "I warned them that if they mess with me again, I will tear them open and eat up their insides. But here they are. They rescued us from certain death at the hands of the human, even if I made it clear that I will kill them at the instant I see them again."

The big bird smiled as it talked, but not in the sinister way as it always did. This time, its smile was placid and amiable. Its once cold and harsh voice was now warm and tender. This sudden change in my predatory self was bizarre yet mitigating.

"You've got some darn good comrades to stick with, Kowalski," the Raptor admired and this surprised me even more. "They're determined to save you and bring you back to your home even though you turn into a serial killer every night."

"That's our credo," I stated all-knowingly, my chest swelling with pride. "Never swim alone."

"A credo like that can only be done by people who are serious or might be even crazy enough to live by it," the Raptor chuckled, "and it looks like they are. I respect that."

It turned its back at me and began to glide away.

"Wait! Where are you going?" I yelled as I tried to near it.

Again, the Raptor looked over its shoulder, that peculiar docile smile on its beak.

"I'm leaving," it replied serenely, "I can't terrorize a place where there are animals who care about their teammates so much that they make me nearly lose my edge. It's just sickening."

I snorted. The Raptor sounded like Rico when it comes to stuff like caring and love.

"I'll find a nice, quiet spot in the depths of your mind," it added then turned away and waved a wing at me. "Consider yourself free now, Kowalski."

My surroundings suddenly became black and the Monster Raptor was nowhere in sight. Then, screaming echoed everywhere and I had to cover my earholes. But I recognized these yelps. I soon realized that they belonged to my teammates. And it sounded like they were in trouble.

I knew I had to wake up, but I felt weak. I concentrated hard and mustered up all of my strength and willpower. I have to help my friends. They aided me many times over and it's about time I do the same to them.


	13. Forgive And Forget?

**Night Of The Monster Raptor**

**Well, folks, you've reached the end of the road of this fanfic. But don't worry. I've got a new one in my artillery and I guarantee you that it's going to be action-packed and just plain out of this world! I hope… -_-**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoM. It belongs to Nickelodeon and Dreamworks. I don't own Alexander either. He belongs to 13thsense. Thank you, 13thsense for letting me use him!**

Forgive And…Forget?

Private, Alexander and Rico watched in fright as the human began to literally squeeze the life out of their leader. They heard bones snap and blood gushed out from the man's grip. Skipper struggled to break loose, but the oxygen supply was being cut from his brain, making his mind foggy and he couldn't think clearly.

A groan from behind them caught their attention. The body of the Monster Raptor moved then rose up slowly to its feet. It shook its head and, with one powerful flap of its wings, left the ground. The Raptor swooped towards the human and the penguin in his hands. It screeched then tore at the man with its talons. In the confusion, the man dropped Skipper who was luckily caught by Rico.

"What's happening?" the leader penguin asked dizzily, massaging his head.

"You probably won't believe this Skipper," Alexander answered hastily, "but the Monster Raptor, I mean, Kowalski is alive! And he's kicking the crud out of the human!"

Skipper sat up and watched the scene in front of him. The Raptor was still clawing at the human whose arms were badly cut up. The man backed away as quickly as he could, but then knocked himself out when he bumped his head hard against a post.

_What the deuce is going on? _Skipper mentally questioned as the Raptor gauchely landed in front of him.

The penguin noticed something different with the predator. Its feathers were a lot less ruffled and its sharp talons retracted into dull ones. The crest on its head was swept back and its once blood red eyes were now that familiar ocean blue hue.

"Skipper, are you alright?" it suddenly inquired.

The team gasped. That voice. It also changed and lost its sinister tone. Instead, it was more recognizable and it made the Raptor sound a lot more like…

"Kowalski? Is that…really you?" Private queried.

The bird nodded and was soon in the tight embraces of his teammates. He managed to squirm free and proceeded to laugh.

"Easy now, guys," he chuckled, "I don't want Rico's barf all over me."

They all laughed at the comment and hugged Kowalski again.

"Seriously, guys. My back's already aching," he grimaced and his comrades immediately let go of him.

Rico and Private then tied up the human again, this time making sure that he wouldn't escape so easily. After dialing the hotline for the police, the animals carefully settled themselves on Kowalski's back and he flew off. The team took this opportunity to enjoy the early morning breeze blowing against their faces. The sun has risen when they reached the zoo and Kowalski was able to change back into his normal self.

"The Monster Raptor is no more," he declared, fixing the bandages around his torso, "that will be the last of my transformations."

"Glad to hear that, soldier," Skipper said, patting his lieutenant's soldier. "Now let's go inside and get some shut-eye."

Kowalski abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"What's the matter, Kowalski?" Private asked, coming to his side. "Aren't you happy to be return home?"

"I am. Truly, I am," the genius faintly replied, rubbing his flipper, "it's just that I can't stand to be with those I've hurt. I feel guilty, even though that I know I didn't have control of myself back then. Do you think they would pardon me for everything that I have done to them?"

"Don't worry, man. They will forgive you," Alexander assured, "they're our friends. We can count on them."

"Uh huh. Friends," Rico agreed with a nod of his head.

Kowalski, however, still doubted this.

"Oh, I don't know…"

Private shook his head then, with some help from Alexander, tugged the reluctant scientist into the Central Park Zoo.

"Hey, everybody!" the small penguin hailed cheerily. "Look who's come back home!"

All at once, Marlene, Fred, Burt and the other zoo residents and refugees gathered round the team.

"Kowalski, how are you?" Burt asked.

"Nice to see you're back!" Fred greeted.

The tall penguin raised a flipper for silence.

"Everyone, I apologize deeply for my felonies," he said, "I know that I have done so many misdeeds to all of you, so I ask for your forgiveness. It's alright if you don't pardon me. I understand that. I just want you to know that – "

Marlene put a paw in front of his face.

"No need to get formal, Kowalski," she beamed, "Of course we forgive you! You're our friend and that's what friends do!"

All of the animals agreed and nodded. Kowalski smiled a bit but then frowned.

"But still, I've committed crimes and I can't forgive myself for that," he stated, close to tears. "I need…some time alone."

He slid towards the HQ, leaving his friends sad and slightly disappointed.

"I wish we could do something to make him forget this," Marlene sighed.

"Forget? Of course!" Private suddenly exclaimed, then tobogganed towards the HQ as well. "I've got something in mind! But I'll be right back."

Skipper raised an eyebrow. Wonder what Private will do?

_Next morning…_

Kowalski woke up. He felt strange and light-headed. He noticed that his torso was wrapped in bandages. He hopped out of his bunk just as Skipper, Private, Rico and Alexander came in.

"Morning, Kowalski!"Skipper greeted. "So, how ya feelin'?"

"To be honest with you, I can't remember anything before this," the penguin admitted as he shook his head. "What happened? Why am I in bandages?"

"Uh…you were captured by Blowhole! Yeah, that's it," Private answered from out of the blue. "And he…um…tortured you…a bit."

"The torture I can remember. But how come I can't recall being incarcerated?" Kowalski asked.

Private shifted uneasily.

"Um…extreme…brain trauma?"

"I guess that settles it," Kowalski said with a shrug. "If you need me, I'll be in my lab."

When he was gone, everybody turned to Private.

"Private, what did you do with Kowalski to make him forget everything?" Skipper inquired.

"Oh, nothing," the young penguin replied with a giggle then took a quick glance at the ketchup bottle on the table. "It's a little secret of mine."

_Meanwhile in the zoo's office…_

Alice the zookeeper also woke up. She stretched out her arms with a yawn and stood up from here office chair.

"What a nice, unfortunately short nap," she remarked, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, it's back to work."

Groggily, she went out of her office. What she didn't know was that her "short nap" actually lasted _way _longer than she expected…

**The End**


End file.
